President Biden, Secretary Austin, and General Milley Participate in September 11th Observance Ceremony at the Pentagon | September 11, 2022



Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, host President Joe Biden at an observance ceremony at the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial to honor the 184 lives lost in the 2001 terrorist attack on the Pentagon. September 11, 2022.00:00:05,480 –> 00:00:06,480 Okay. Okay. Mhm. Mhm. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the United States Department of Defense, we welcome you to our annual observance ceremony where we honor and remember the 184 lives lost 21 years ago on American Airlines flight 77. And at the pentagon at 9 37 AM on September 11th, 2001, mm please stand for the arrival of the official party. Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States joseph R Biden, accompanied by the Secretary of Defense, Lloyd J. Austin the third, The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark A Milley and Colonel James J. Foster Command chaplain. Military District of Washington. Please remain standing for the national anthem performed by the President’s own United States Marine Band. Directed by Colonel Jason K. Fettig. And the Joint Armed Forces Chorus directed by Lieutenant Colonel Randall Bartell application. Right, just what and yes. Mhm. Yeah, ladies and gentlemen, please be seated Dr Paul W. Ambrose specialist craig. S badminton, United States Army Petty Officer, 3rd Class Melissa Rose Barnes, United States Navy Master Sergeant max. J. Bell key, United States Army retired Dr. Yeah, no, no be true Petty Officer. 2nd Class Chris Romero Bishan. States Navy Kerry are Blackburn. Colonel Canfield D Boone, United States Army Mary jane booth, Donna M. Bowen. Alan p Boyle Bernard C. Brown the 2nd Petty Officer, 3rd class Christopher L. Burford, United States Navy Captain Charles F. Burlingame. The 3rd United States Navy Reserve retired Petty Officer, 3rd Class Daniel M. Caballero. United States Navy Sergeant, first class Jose O Calderon. O. Medo, United States Army, Suzanne M. Callie Angeline C. Carter Sharon A carver William E. Caswell Sergeant, first class john J Chatah, United States Army. Retired rosa Maria, Chapa, David, M Charlie Boy Sarah M. Clark, Julian T cooper, Asia S. Cottam. Lieutenant Commander Erik A. Cranford, United States Navy Ada M. Davis, James D de Venir, Captain Gerald F. D. Canto, United States Navy Rodney Dickens, Lieutenant Colonel Gerry D. Dickerson, United States Army Eddie A. Dillard Petty Officer, First class johnny doctor Junior, United States Navy Captain Robert E. Dolan, Jr, United States Navy Commander, William H. Donovan, United States Navy Lieutenant Commander, Charles A. Draws the third, United States Navy, Retired Commander, Patrick Dunn, United States Navy Petty Officer, 1st Class Edward T. Earhart, United States Navy Barbara G. Edwards. Lieutenant Commander, Robert, R. L. Seth, United States Navy Reserve Charles S. Falkenburg and his wife Leslie A Wigington. And their two Children, Dana Falkenberg and Zoe Falkenberg Petty Officer. 3rd Class Jamie L. Fallon, United States Navy J. Joseph Ferguson. Amelia V Fields, Gerald P. Fisher, Darlene E. Flag and her husband. Rear Admiral Wilson. F. Flag, United States Navy Reserve Retired Petty Officer, 2nd Class Matthew M. Flacco, United States Navy, Sandra and Foster. First Lieutenant Richard, P. Gabriel, United States Marine Corps, Retired Mhm Captain Laurence D. Gets Fred, United States Navy Cortez G. Brenda C. Gibson Colonel Ronald F. Golinski, United States Army, Retired N. J Gray. Diane Hale Mackenzie Stanley R. Hall Caroline B. Hellman Michelle M. Heidenberger, Sheila M. S. Heine Petty Officer 1st Class. Ronald J. Hemenway, United States Navy Major Wallis Cole Hogan Jr United States Army Staff Sergeant Jimmy I holly, United States Army, Retired Angela M. House brady K. Howell Peggy M. Hurt. Lieutenant Colonel steven and Highland Junior, United States Army Lieutenant Colonel Robert J. Hymel, United States Air Force, Retired Sergeant Major Lacy. Be Ivory, United States Army Brian C. Jack steven D. Jacoby. Lieutenant Colonel Dennis M Johnson, United States Army Judith L. Jones and see judge Brenda. Kay, glor Chandler R Keller. Yo von E Kennedy Norma Cruz Con Karen and Kincaid Lieutenant Michael S. Lamanna, United States Navy, David W. Late Check dong Charlie Jennifer Lewis and her husband Kenneth D. Lewis. Samantha L. Light born Allen. Major steven V. Long, United States Army James. T lynch Jr Terence M lynch Petty officer. Second class name Haman Lions the fourth, United States Navy Shelly A. Marshal. Teresa M martin Ada L. Mason. Acker Lieutenant Colonel Dean E. Mattson, United States Army Lieutenant General timothy J. Maude, United States Army Robert. J. Maxwell Renee A. May molly L. McKenzie Dora Marie. Menchaca Patricia E. Mickley Major Ronald D. Milham, United States Army Gerard P. Moran Jr. Odessa V Morris Petty Officer. First Class Brian. A Moss, United States Navy. Eddington. H Moy. Lieutenant Commander Patrick J Murphy, United States Navy Reserve Christopher, C. Newton Kang, knock win Petty Officer, 2nd Class Michael A. No with United States Navy Barbara K. Olson, Rubin. S. Or NATO Diana B Padro. Lieutenant Jonas M. Panic, United States Navy Reserve Major Clifford. L. Patterson Jr United States Army Robert penning er Robert. Our closure the third and his wife Sandra f closure Lieutenant Darren H. Pontell, United States Navy Reserve Scott Powell Captain Jack D. Punches, United States Navy Retired Petty Officer. First class joseph J pisser, junior, United States Navy Lisa J. Rains. Deborah A Ramsar Rhonda Sue Rasmussen, Petty Officer, first class Marcia de Ratchford, United States Navy Martha M. Risky. Todd. H. Rubin, Cecilia E. Lawson Richard. Edward V. Rowan horst, Judy Roll IT Sergeant Major Robert E. Russell, United States Army, Retired Chief warrant Officer William R Ruth, United States Army Reserve Charles E. Saban, Senior Marjorie C. Salamoni john P. Sammartino. Colonel David M scales, United States Army Commander Robert. A Schlegel, United States Navy Janice and Scott. Lieutenant Colonel Michael L. Selves, United States Army. Retired Marianne H. Server Commander dan F Shan. Our United States Navy Antoinette m. Sherman. Diane M. Simmons and her husband George W. Simmons. Donald D. Simmons. Cheryl D. Sin Chief Greg H. Smallwood, United States Navy Mhm. Lieutenant Colonel Gary F smith. United States Army. Retired Mary Ray. Soper Robert Spy Zeman. Patricia J. Starts. Edna L. Stevens Norma lang. Sisterly Sergeant Major. Larry L Strickland, United States Army. Hilda. E. Taylor. Yeah. Lieutenant Colonel. Kit P. Taylor, United States Army Leonard E. Taylor Sandra C. Taylor Sandra dee Teague Lieutenant Karl W. Tepee, United States Army, Retired Sergeant Tamara C. Thurman, United States Army Lieutenant Commander Otis V. Tolbert, United States Navy Staff Sergeant Willy Q. Troy, United States Army, Retired Lieutenant Commander Ronald J. V. United States Navy Reserve Lieutenant Colonel Karen J. Wagner, United States Army meta L. Fuller Waller Specialist Chin Sun Pack Wells, United States Army Staff Sergeant Maudlin. A White United States Army, Sandra L. White Ernest M. Wilshire Lieutenant Commander, David L. Williams, United States Navy Major Dwayne Williams, United States Army Chief Marvin, roger Woods, United States Navy, Retired Captain john D. M. Nikki, Senior United States Navy Retired Vicki Yancey, Petty Officer 2nd Class Kevin W. Yoakum, United States Navy Chief Donald M. Young, United States Navy, Edmund G. Young Junior. Mhm Lisa L. Young shoo in young and her husband knew Gwang Jang. Yeah, that’s cool. Mhm. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, please stand for the invocation. I invite you to prayer with me on this solemn occasion. Almighty God we thank you for your love and your grace, thank you for being here with us today in your mighty name. Amen. Ladies and gentlemen, I now invite you to enjoy a moment of silence with us as we remember our fallen 21 years ago today in this very place at 0937. Mhm. Mhm. Ladies and gentlemen, please be seated. It is my pleasure to introduce General Mark A Milley. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Mr. President Secretary Austin, distinguished guests and especially the survivors and families of the fallen who are here today and watching from around the world. Thank you. Thank you for joining us for this morning’s ceremony 21 years ago today, terrorists murdered 2900 And 77 innocent men, women and Children in the name of their warped ideology which started out as a normal day here at the Pentagon violently changed at 0937 hours on the sacred ground where we now stand on 100 and 84 Americans were viciously slaughtered. 100 and 25 in the pentagon and 59 passengers and crew on flight 77. The innocent ranged in age from three 2 71 years old. The families of those killed and our entire nation will forever remember the pain of this day. It was not just an attack on the passengers and crew aboard the aircraft, not just an attack on New York City or Washington DC or Somerset county Pennsylvania. There’s an attack on our nation as a whole. There’s an attack on the freedom of this nation. Attack on who we are and what we represent the terrorists believe that they could destroy us, destroy our values, the values that bind this nation and they were wrong. Terror will never destroy us. They will never destroy the idea that is America. The idea that we are all Americans regardless of where we came from, what our last name is, regardless of the color of our skin, of the religion we follow. It doesn’t matter if we’re male or female. None of that matters. We are all Americans. It was an attack on all of us. It was attacked because we were born free and equal and that freedom is worth fighting for Since 911. That is exactly what three million of us did. Who wore the cloth of our nation. We deployed to engage the enemies of our country to protect and defend the principles that came under attack This day, 21 years ago. Each of you, each of you sacrifice to defend our country and its values. Each of you did your duty. Each of you deserves our nation’s eternal gratitude. And on this day We gather here to honor the fallen of 911 to remember and reflect and to reaffirm our resolve to support and defend the idea and the reality that is America for which those brave souls gave their last full measure of devotion, hate and terror can damage but it will never destroy the strength of America. The ideas that are our very foundation and the values of the pillars of this great nation. Ladies and gentlemen, is now my honor to introduce the Secretary of Defense of the United States. The honorable Lloyd J. Austin the third. Well, thank you, thank you. General Milley Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for being here. It is indeed an honor to be joined by family members of the fallen survivors and first responders To those whose loved ones were so cruelly taken from them. On September 11, 2001, I offer my deepest condolences and so does the entire Department of Defense. We know that these moments of tribute are not easy and we know the resilience that you have shown over these long years. It gives us all strength. So thank you today. We stand together to remember a day of horror and lost a day when al Qaeda terrorists murdered 2977 innocent souls, Including 184 people here at the Pentagon. But we also remember a day of monumental courage and compassion, a day when people responded to evil and fanaticism with goodness and generosity. A day that called forth the heroism that dwells in the hearts of Americans across this land. Many of those acts of bravery have happened right here where we’re standing our colleagues at the pentagon risk their own safety to rescue their teammates. They moved rubble with their bare hands. They clean wounds with bottled water. They use damp t shirts as face masks to shield against the smoke so that they could keep on helping just a little longer. You know, one woman was crawling across the second floor trying to escape when she came across a coworker who had been in the same conference room when the plane hit and the coworker did not think that she could keep on going. Just get on my back the woman said and I will carry you and she did and she got them both to safety. Mhm just get on my back and I will carry you. That is the spirit of the people of this building and all those who responded at the scene in the face of cruelty. They showed compassion, courage and common purpose in the days and months after the attack. Ordinary Americans volunteered in an extraordinary way to help. However, they could including millions who raise their hands to serve in the U. S. Military. So today I want to again thank our men and women in uniform as well as the families who make their service possible. Your sacrifice has ensured that America always stands ready to defend our values, our freedoms and our citizens. Just over one year ago, America’s war in Afghanistan came to an end. Yet we continue our relentless focus on combating terrorist threats to our nation And earlier this summer, the United States delivered justice to Ayman Al Zawahiri, the leader of Al Qaeda. So make no mistake. America’s determination to keep our country safe will never waver and neither will America’s determination to bring justice to those who attack our citizens Surrounding us today are 184 steel benches each bearing the name of a person murdered in the attack on the pentagon. And every night 184 lights come on lighting up each bench just as the people who they honor lit up the lives of those who love them. And those lights remind us that even on our darkest days the American spirit still shines. It shines through the bravery of our first responders. It shines through the strength of the heart broken and it shines through the value of the valor of our troops. And it shines through the sacrifice of all those who step up to defend the United States. So today let us renew our dedication to facing the test of tomorrow as our heroes did with compassion for one another, with love for our great republic and with devotion to our democracy. We will always remember, we will always stand guard over this democracy and we will always seek to be worthy of those who we lost. As President Biden has said and I quote from the deepest depths of our worst crises, we’ve always risen to our higher heights. Ladies and gentlemen, our President deeply cares about the men and women of the United States military and our President believes deeply in America’s strength in the democratic values that guide us in times of trial and in the resilience of the American spirit. Even at moments of great challenge. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to introduce the President of the United States. Mhm Secretary Austin, General Milley to all the families and loved ones who still feel the ache. That missing piece of your soul. I’m honored to be here with you once more to share this solemn rite of remembrance and reflect on all that was lost in the fire and ash on that terrible September morning and all that we found on ourselves to respond 21 years ago, 21 years. And we still kept our promise, never forget, will keep the memory of all those precious lives stolen from from us. 2,977 at ground zero in New York and Shanksville where my wife is speaking now in Pennsylvania 184 of them here at the Pentagon. And I know for all those of you who’ve lost someone 21 years is both a lifetime and no time at all. It’s good to remember these memories help us heal, but they can also open up the hurt and take us back to that moment when the grief was so raw. You think of everything everything they could have done if they had lived and just had a little more time. The experience you missed together. The dreams they never got to fulfill or realize. I remember a message sent to the American people from Queen Elizabeth. It was on September 11. Her ambassador read a prayer of service at ST. Thomas Church in New York where she pointedly reminded us, quote grief is the price we pay for love, grief is the price we pay for love. Many of us experienced that grief and you’ve all experienced it and on this day when the price feels so great Jill and I are holding all of you close to our hearts, terror struck us in that brilliant blue morning, the air filled with smoke and then came the sirens and the stories, stories of those We lost stories of incredible heroism from that terrible day. The American story, the American story itself changed that day. But what we did change but we will not change. What we cannot change. Never will is the character of this nation that the terrorists thought they could wound. And what is that character? The character of sacrifice and love of generosity and grace of strength and resilience and the crucible of 9 11 in the days and months that followed we saw what stuff Americans may Americans are made of. Think of all of your loved ones, particularly those on that flight. Ordinary citizens who said we will not let this stand risked and lost their lives. So even more people would not die. We saw in the police officers and firefighters who stood on the pile of ground zero for months amid that twisted steel and broken concrete slabs breathing the toxins and ash that would damage their health refusing refusing to stop the search through the destruction. They never stopped and would not. We learned about the extraordinary courage and resolved as I said of the passengers on board flight 93 understood that they were living in the open. They were there in the middle of the open shot of a new war and who chose to fight back not professionals a site fight back, sacrificing themselves, refusing to let their plane be used as a weapon against even more innocence. And here at the pentagon which is both the scene of the horrific terrorist attack and the command center for our response to defend and protect the American people. So many heroes were made here, so many of your loved ones were those heroes began almost immediately with civilians and service members leaping to action as the walls collapsed and the roof began to crumble. They raced into the breach between the 4th and 5th corridors. The impact created by the fire raids. Twice the height of this building I remember I was a U. S. Senator walking up to my office and I could see the smoke and flames. They were heroes. They went back into those soaring flames to try to save their teammates, firefighters battle the blaze of jet fuel long into the night, pushing past the bounds of exhaustion. Pentagon staff showed up to work on September 12th, more determined than ever to keep their country secure. I said when I was up at 9 11, we will follow them to the gates of hell to be sure that they’re not able to continue. And millions of young men and women from across the nation responded to 9 11 attacks with courage and resolved signing up to defend our constitution and joining the greatest fighting force in the history of the world. And in the years since 9 11, hundreds of thousands of American troops have served in Afghanistan, Iraq and so many other places around the world to deny terrorists a safe haven and to protect the American people and to all our service members and their families, our veterans, our Gold star families, all the survivors and caregivers and loved ones who sacrificed so much for our nation. We owe you we owe you an incredible and incredible debt. A debt that can never be repaid but will never fail to meet the sacred obligation to you to properly prepare and equip those that we send into harm’s way and care for those and their families when they come home and to never, ever, ever forget Through all that has changed over the last 21 years, the enduring resolve of the American people to defend ourselves against those who seek us harm and deliver justice. As those responsible for the attacks against our people has never once folded. It took 10 years to hunt down and kill Osama bin laden, but we did and this summer are authorized as a successful strike on Zawahiri, the man who bin laden was his deputy at 9 11, who was the leader of al Qaeda because we will not rest. We’ll never forget, we’ll never give up. And now Zawahiri can never again threaten the American people. In 20 years after Afghanistan is over. But our commitment to preventing another attack, the United States is without end our intelligence defense and counterterrorism professionals in the building behind me and across the government continue their vigilance against terrorist threats that has evolved and spread to new regions of the world. Will continue to monitor and disrupt those terrorist activities wherever we find them wherever they exist and will never hesitate to do what’s necessary to defend the American people. What was destroyed. We have repaired what was threatened, We fortified what was attacked. The indomitable spirit has never ever wavered. We raised monuments and memorials to the citizens whose blood sacrificed on these grounds and then Shanksville and ground zero to keep touch with the memory. Keep it bright for all the decades to come. When future generations come here to sit in the shade of the maple trees that showed the memorial grown tall and strong with passing years, they will find the names of patriots, They will feel the connection that will come to pass on September 11, 2001, and how our country was forever changed and I hope they will think about all those of all those heroes. There were more in the hours and days and years that followed Ordinary Americans responding in extraordinary and unexpected ways. I hope we’ll remember that in the midst of these dark days we dug deep, we cared for each other. We came together. You know, we regained the light by reaching out to one another and finding something all too rare. A true sense of national unity. To me that’s the greatest lesson of September 11. Not that we will never again face a setback, but that in a moment of great unity, we also had the face down. The worst impulses, fear violence, recrimination directed against Muslim Americans as well as Americans and Middle Eastern and South Asian heritage is that for all our flaws and disagreements in the push and pull of all that makes us human. There is a nation that cannot accomplish. There’s nothing this nation cannot accomplish when we stand together and defend with all our hearts. That which makes us unique in the world. Our democracy were not only a nation based on principles, but we are based on an idea. Unlike most unique nation in the world, an idea that everyone is created equal and should be treated equally throughout their lives. We don’t always live up to it but have never walked away from it. That’s what makes us strong. That’s what makes us who we are and that’s what those hijackers most hoped to destroy. When they targeted our buildings and our people, they failed. No terrorists could touch the Wellspring of American power and it falls to us To keep it safe. On behalf of all those we lost 21 years ago on behalf of all those who’ve given their whole souls to the cause of this nation every day since that’s a job for all of us. It’s not enough to gather and remember each September 11 those we lost more than two decades ago because on this day it is not about the past, it’s about the future. We have an obligation a duty and responsibility to defend, preserve and protect our democracy. The very democracy that guarantees the rights of freedom that those terrorists of 9 11 sought to bury and the burning fire and smoke and ash and that takes a commitment on the part of all of us, dedication hard work every day for hours remember the American democracy depends on the habits of the heart of we the people, that’s how our constitution, we the people. The habits of heart of we the people. It’s not enough to stand up for democracy once a year or every now and then. It’s something we have to do every single day. So this is a day not only to remember but a day of renewal and resolve for each and every American and our devotion to this country, to the principles and our bodies to our democracy. That is who we owe those who remember today, that is what we owe one another and that is what we owe future generations of Americans to come. I have no doubt we will do this. We will meet this significant responsibility, will secure our democracy together as one America. The United States of America. That’s who we are. That’s who your loved ones were and why they gave so much. Thank you. May God bless you all and may God honor the members of the military we lost and all those we lost here on 9 11. May God protect our troops. Yes, Okay ladies and gentlemen, please stand for the singing of God bless America while the storm clouds gather far across the sea. Let us swear a legion to align that from the mountain. We don’t know firing. Can we pray together before we leave? Almighty and sovereign. God, I do believe that America is a beautiful place and God that you are here with us. You shower down not just rain from heaven above, but you shower down upon us. Love mercy, forgiveness and that amazing grace that we sing about Now as we exchange this hallowed ground, this place for the road ahead and all that life brings our way. God provide peace for those who grieve the loss of someone close of someone dear to their heart. Help us all to walk worthy of your presence and your protection of the very blessings for which we ask once again today for you know our hearts and our desire our whole, that we can all live in peace. God be with our service members and all of our civil servants, protect them, especially as they stand with courage and determination in harm’s way around the globe and give us peace that only comes from you in your holy name and in the power of your Holy spirit. I pray Amen. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today’s ceremony. Thank you for joining us this morning. The memorial, the pentagon memorial chapel and the Navy reflection room are open until 12 p.m. Yeah. Mhm.

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